Long Reads

How a Democratic Counteroffensive Can Win

With authoritarian nationalism continuing to gain ground around the world, it would be easy to give in to despair. But there are also grounds to hope for the survival of open societies, which are, despite appearances, far stronger and more stable than repressive regimes.

DAVOS – We’re living at a transformational moment in history. The survival of open societies is endangered, and we face an even greater crisis: climate change, which threatens the survival of our civilization. These twin challenges have inspired me to announce the most important project of my life.

As I argue in my recent book, In Defense of Open Society, in revolutionary moments, the range of possibilities is far wider than in normal times. It is easier to influence events than to understand what is going on. As a result, outcomes are unlikely to correspond to people’s expectations. This has already caused widespread disappointment, which populist politicians are exploiting for their own purposes.

Open societies have not always needed defending in the determined way that they do today. Some 40 years ago, when I became engaged in what I call my political philanthropy, the wind was at our back and carried us forward. International cooperation was the prevailing creed. In some ways, it prevailed even in the crumbling and ideologically bankrupt Soviet Union – remember the Marxist slogan “workers of the world, unite”? The European Union was in the ascendant, and I considered it the embodiment of the open society.

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Already have an account or want to create one to read two commentaries for free?
Log in

Support High-Quality Commentary

For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it.

But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please subscribe now.

As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads and book reviews, Say More contributor interviews, The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible.

By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you.

No. He's got it pretty bang-on. See the Amnesty International India page: https://amnesty.org.in/ Issues it lists are anti-muslim policies, repression of communications by opposition organisations, and systematic policies of violent response to peaceful protest. And that's just on their front page. Modi is another over-inflated nasty, from the same mould as Putin, Trump, Erdogan, Xi and all the rest of the tantrummy little boys posing as men, revelling in conflict and panic.

Soros with his Open Society is opposed to authoritariasm and he favors of mediafreedom.That is great.But I suggets he has a closer look at the European Union and some of its members.Over the past 20 years the EU has developed into a monster, led by a small, dug-in, elite of Europhiles, with almost total control over its citizen. Media freedom has been increasingly curtailed. This elite comprises mainly of "political correct" people, but some are left.They are totally obsessed by the idea of building the EU as the superstate. Led by idealism, blind for reality an deaf for the voice of the citizen . Anyone having any doubt is treated as an enemy of the state ( the EU).

The EU has a big bureaucracy producing many regulations and distributing vast amounts of subsidies to control society. The existing democratic procedures are often corrupted by Brussel / French / German lobbyists.On major issues, like: the future of the EU, future of the Euro, role of the Parliament, migration, there is no agreement.In my country, one of the oldest democracies in Europe, I estimate we have only 3 'non political correct' publications left. If you want to learn what happens in Germany you have to buy a Swiss paper. In France they demonize anyone critical of the EU and call them 'populists'.

Mr. Soros explained he once escaped from the USSR, then he can perhaps warn us for the EU from drifting into becoming an EUSSR.

This comment was removed by a moderator. Replies to this comment may also be deleted. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

The so-called “Open Society” is just PR for the de-facto reality of the closed society. Try arguing that humans are mammals with two discrete sexes (which just happens to be true), and you will discover the brutal reality of the closed society. Try arguing that “racism” and “white supremacy” are essentially non-existent and you discover the savage reality of the closed society. Try arguing that identity politics is fundamentally wrong, and you will discover that the “Open Society” is nice phrase for a political climate that is Stalinist (without the Gulag so far). You would think that the “Open Society” would abhor loyalty oaths as a condition of hiring. You would be wrong.

Thank you for giving us such a clear outline of the dangers we all face. Achieving as much as you (undoing Bannon’s work for instance) is basically what I have in mind when trying to imagine a good life’s work.

Putting the brunt of the effort on education feels both inescapably logical & frustratingly long-term.

I have found that institutions officially dedicated to education often fails this simple litmus test of their values. Which - shows that they really function mostly in the interest of teachers & paying customers. - inevitably raises questions about how good their classes are, instead of just spotting possible improvements & fixing them in public, which is (imho) the open thing to do.

Thank you for your patience in reading this comment. More power to you.

Follow the money. It is not going to any open global societies anywhere. It is going right to Dubai. Keep a ledger. I am. The only paradigm that is presently occurring is the consolidation of free human beings into fenced and tabulated enslaved human beings, assigned to work groups around the globe for the entire profit of one family in Saudi Arabia. Follow the money around the globe. I repeat, none of it is going into any distributive streams to any of the globally sub-contracted workers, the communities, and infrastructures globally.

There is a considerable irony to the rhetoric about the “Open Society”. At least in the English-speaking world, the advocates on the “Open Society” are almost entirely regressive leftists who seek to stamp out freedom wherever it emerges. The so-called “Open Society” advocates enthusiastically support repression, censorship, “no-platforming”, violence, and tyranny without restraint. The “Open Society” means that they (and they alone) can shriek their mindless propaganda and no dissent, public or private, is allowed.

The newest trick (in the USA) is to demand “loyalty oaths” as a condition for hiring. You would think the “Open Society” and 50s McCarthyism would be opposed. You would think… And you would be wrong.

The assessment that Hindu Nationalism is on rise is wrong. The Modi Govt has neither deprived any Indian Citizen of his/her citizenship nor has taken any steps to harm the Kashmiriyat. The assessment shows the lack of research put by Mr. Soros

This comment was removed by a moderator. Replies to this comment may also be deleted. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

"he has managed to gather a large number of followers who have bought into his alternative reality. This has turned his narcissism into a malignant disease. He has come to believe that he can impose his alternative reality not only on his followers but on reality itself." Trump isn't imposing his reality on anybody. They like what he says. Don't presume they're all ignorant "deplorables". That opinion probably cost Hillary Clinton the election. He is going to win again. Get used to it.

This comment was removed by a moderator. Replies to this comment may also be deleted. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

True. Billionaires were born Autocrats. That is why they are billionaires. Had they believed in Democracy (rule by The People) they would have turned out to be Middle Class, like most of the rest of US.

The public is not fooled. The so-called "Open Society" is just thin cloaking device for insatiable private greed. In real life, the advocates of the "Open Society" live in gated communities insulated from the devastation their malignant ideologies have wrought. Their ideal world is Rotherham and Telford for the people, carefully controlled private schools for themselves.

The main threat to a free and open society is the ambition of socialist liberalism to dominate the world, politically and socially. There is already enough evidence of attempted thought control, e.g., laws against "Islamophobia", whatever that means, and of providing counseling for gender confused people. The threat of authoritarianism is from the left, not the right.

Any revolution of the opposition against those in power is carried out by War, since they have no other choice. The Hallmark of the Devas (since the time of the Vedas in India and Moses in the Middle East) is that they are in control of the 'Money System' that controls all those who work for it.

The threat of authoritarianism of the Left (those out of power) against the authoritarianism of the Right (those in power) goes back to the writings of the Vedas and the Bible around 1500 B.C. Moses rejected the rule of the Egyptian Pharos for those Jews under the Egyptian Captivity and led them back to the "Promised Land". He did this by claiming the power of the Hebrew God was more powerful than that of the Pharos. The Vedas of the same time in history, in India, concerned the conflict of the Devas (those in power) versus the Asuras (those out of power but contesting power), and portrayed that conflict in a more objective manner than the Bible.

There will ALWAYS be a "Regime in Power" and an "Opposition" to power contesting their power and 'Pretending' to power as their replacement.

Sometimes there will be several oppositions to power (as in the World today), and sometimes there will be no regime in power (chaos), prior to the "life of the World to Come".

Freedom is the best choice, but it requires respect, tolerance, and an understanding that 'We are all Different' and have different ego and power needs, depending on our culture. Anytime freedom fails we fall into the morass of socio-economic-political conflict that is, again, typical of the state of the World today (chaos).

Again, the World is as yet to be defined! (Things cannot get worse, only better.)

Power is not all that matters. Right principles matter and the left goes by what they need to create a utopia, not by right principles which they ignore. The people have the power of the vote but it will ultimately fail if they are not supported by right principles.

The revolution to wrest back political control from the traitors of the Globalist Cabal, for the peoples of the democracies of the world, is now well underway and accelerating at an accelerating rate. Sri Lanka, India, Sweden, US....it's happening everywhere.

Brexit was days ago. That is just the start. The organic EU implosion is next.

The timing of the advent of the organic implosion of the CCP regime is anyone's guess. One thing is however exceedingly clear, that like an Australian bushfire, the longer it takes for the inevitable to trigger, the more catastrophic and violent will likely be the outcome.... Unless of course we are lucky and get a USSR type evaporation event...

In the current issue of Psychoanalytic Quarterly, the famed psychoanalys Otto Kernberg's article "Malignant Narcissism and Large Group Regression" describes in psychological terms how the confluence of a distressed minority of people and a malevolent, self-centered leader can, under the right circumstances, lead to disaster. Although Kernberg never names Trump, the characterization of the malignant leader and his "regressed mass movement" fits Mr. Trump and his base, now including the Republicans in the Senate, to a T. I strongly recommend this article. It does not confirm Mr. Soros's hopes, but in explaining Trump's appeal to his base it may help us learn how to save democracy from the Trumps, Modis, and even Salvinis of this world. Another writing, which Kernberg cites at length, is Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny, a succinct and persuasive book from a political science perspective that makes much the same set of points.

Don't doubt that "the distressed minority" (the disgruntled Middle Class) which was not the democratic minority in the American 2016 General Election but the majority, created a "regressed mass movement" of those who are severely psychologically regressed intoto believing in "fundamental principles" upon which their existence depends and defending them.

"Die For Me" is the perennial code of the Ruling Class. "Die for Them" is the perennial code of the Ruled Class, accepting the Rule of the Ruling Class.

Soros' beliefs require a redefinition of "Them" and "Us", which Soros has accomplished in his own mind, but is not yet reverently popular even though he is successful at making $billions without 'popular support'. He is eminently successful at being subversive of Governments in Power in the nations he predates.

He is a "little bit much" but fits with his name Soros (in Hungarian, "Serial" or "Next in Line" [to power]) and no doubt has achieved his wildest aim.

What is good for the Sheep is good for the Shepard (who sells them at market).

It is the butchers He sells them to that make the real profit. Society is compartmentalized (you do your job, and you believe what you have to believe to do that job).

The sheep have a Good Master, but the market He sells them to for slaughter have VERY DIFFERENT VALUES.

Do your job, profit by it, be happy, and don't compare yourself to any other individual within any other institution. They will do everything else required to integrate your efforts and contributions for 'Society at Large', and you would unlikely be happy doing what they do.

Remember: Compartmentalization of Human Roles in the Great Scheme of the Human World allows us all to be 'special contributors' but none of us can be "Everything to Everybody".

The wielding of power, by whomever, wherever is the new platform. There is no guise of democracy, no cooperative spirit. Only power, and decisions based on "liking", with no obligation to acknowledge any individual reasonable responsibility for personal actions. Now, whomever has obtained positions of power can do whatever they like essentially to anybody that does not have the same level of power. The new standards are retaliatory, random, and divisive. To me, it's the initiation to an autocracy that is beyond any levels of fascist control systems and dictatorships of the past. It's sad, scary and I am glad that I do not have much longer to live. If this is the type of new world order, it is based on eliminating all freedoms and options of individual choice, only obeying processing masters that really have no significance for all living creatures in and of the real world.

The significance of all of that up there that I just wrote is based on the fact that EPIC, the medical software platform that holds over 50percent of data of all US citizens is a privately owned software platform and data system. Major fund holder is the Saudi Investment Fund. So effectively all licensing fees etc. goes to that private fund. The real channelling of all the revenues from the major insurance carriers in the US, from US citizens, monies and data. That is a nice little pile of revenue to one vertical, investment fund owned by one family. No wonder the King is "worth" over a trillion USD.

Doubt that. He is an "Original Revolutionary" and believes that "Free Speech" is necessary for his ultimate goal of revolution against all 'Nationalistic Governments'.

Not clear what his ultimate plan is for the World, since he has never clearly stated it. The closest he came was when he suggested a 'Mix of World currencies' as the standard to replace the Gold Standard, as the basis for international monetary control. Nevertheless, he is clearly a believer in the absolute control of the World Monetary System as a standard to which all nations and cultures must accede.

The Middle East nations have been in revolution, for cultural sovereignty, against Soros' concept of a World Order under New World Order Financial Institutions for over 50 years (of which he is one of its outstanding leaders and proponents).

We have only another 500,000,000 years to survive on Earth. Then the Sun will turn into a Red Giant and incinerate the Earth and all life on Earth.

The Earth existed and spawned life about 4.5 Billion years ago, so the Earth and Life on Earth is about 90% over. We could evacuate the planet and go to Triton (the newest discovered planet) before then, and we only have 500,000,000 years to do so. Our technology will determine our survival beyond the present state.

Mercury, Venus and Mars, as a location for the relocation of Life on Earth is already precluded by the scientists. They are already 'sizzled'. The outer planets of Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto haven't the makeup to support Humans/Life since they fail the test for Oxygen and Water.

Only Triton can support Earthly life in the future, since it is full of frozen methane which when heated up by the Sun (according to scientific projection) can create an environment similar to Earth, since the release of its methane gas with the Earth's warming will also lead to the creation of an oxygenated atmosphere and water that support Humans and other forms of Life on Earth.

We must start planning for the adaptive move of Humans to Triton, before the Sun becomes a Red Giant, 500,000,000 years from now and destroys all life on Earth.

N.B. we only have 10% of our Earth's history of evolution (500M years) into the Human species to move our species (and other life forms) evolved over the last 4.5B years to the 'Outer Planets' of our Sun.

Nevertheless, our Sun and Solar System will eventually be sucked into a Black Hole, according to scientists, beyond the 500M deadline to evacuate the Earth for Triton.

TESLA sure will continue up the ladder of financialization processing to the nth degree. Any interim operational loss incurred due to any untimely exploding rockets over the next few thousands of years will just generate more investment strategies to further success into the future. That is not a real buy recommendation from me either!

I fail to understand why Populism, the political rise of a disenfranchised and disgruntled Middle Class under populist leaders, is a threat to Soros' concept of an Open Society.

America's democratic rise to world power was enabled by an economically, politically and morally strong Middle Class with a work ethic and belief that we all should work hard and all share in the benefits. Middle Class power in America is now on the wane, due to an autocratic financial system that favors autocratic rule by New World Order banks and global institutions, that has resulted in the diminution of Middle Class power and the rise of autocratic powers.

Isn't the reestablishment of the Working Middle Class to their prior status in America and England necessary to maintain Democracy and the Open Society Soros continually vaunts?

The Islamic movement is utilizing to an extreme:Taqiya.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaqiyaNone of the political leadership of the so-labelled Westerners comprehend, nor understand what is occurring right in their face. The Chinese and the Hindu, and Islamic Indians do. George is an opportunist and is not conscious of that fact, Donald is too. The conscious awareness of both men are presenting from different aspects of unconsciousness. Geoge is more ideologically connected, with better writers to support his presentations of personal interpretation of reality for others, only from the notion of "generality". The notion of generality is pretty significant, when it comes to awareness levels of consciousness.

New Comment

It appears that you have not yet updated your first and last name. If you would like to update your name, please do so here.

Pin comment to this paragraph

After posting your comment, you’ll have a ten-minute window to make any edits. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

As the world enters a new decade, research and development into artificial intelligence is barreling forward. Although popular narratives tend to focus on the threats posed by AI, the truth is that many of the technology's dangers have been overhyped, and its promises neglected.

Log in/Register

Please log in or register to continue. Registration is free and requires only your email address.

Emailrequired

PasswordrequiredRemember me?

Please enter your email address and click on the reset-password button. If your email exists in our system, we'll send you an email with a link to reset your password. Please note that the link will expire twenty-four hours after the email is sent. If you can't find this email, please check your spam folder.